Woman injured by bison at Yellowstone two days after national park reopened

A bison injured a woman visiting Yellowstone on Wednesday, two days after the national park partially reopened from COVID-19 restrictions.

Park spokeswoman Linda Veress told CNN the woman was following too close behind the bison, which then knocked her to the ground.

The park did not release the woman’s name. She was reportedly aided by park medical staff and declined to go to the hospital.

Veress said the woman violated the park’s guidance instructing visitors to remain at least 25 yards away from all large animals.

A separate incident occurred on May 12, while the park was still closed, when an unauthorized visitor reportedly fell into a “thermal feature” close to the famous Old Faithful geyser and was transferred to a medical facility for burn injuries.

Yellowstone, which stretches across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, recently announced a phased reopening after lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus spread.

“Wyoming has lifted out-of-state travel restrictions and has requested the state’s entrances open the week of May 18,” the park said in a statement earlier this month.

The park is working to reopen other entrances “as soon as possible,” noting that Montana and Idaho “continue to have out-of-state restrictions in place.”